Chicago Named Number 1 Startup City

New Study Names Top Startup Cities in the Midwest

For the third year in a row, Chicago was named the number 1 in a list of the best startup cities in the Midwest. The new study comes from Chicago VC firm M25.

M25 ranked the tech ecosystems of 54 Midwest cities based on startup activity, access to resources and business climate, including factors such as number of startups, number of exits, investor activity, accelerators, government support, and local universities.

Minneapolis came in at number two followed by Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Ann Arbor. Rounding out the top 10 are Madison, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. Of note, other Illinois cities on M25’s list include Champaign (16), Peoria (36), Bloomington (37), Rockford (49) and Springfield (50).

To review the full list of Midwest cities and their methodology, read M25’s blog post here.